Who wants to be a winner?

THE men, women and children who make this such a special place to live will be honoured in the first ever Pride of Reading awards, hosted by TV star Chris Tarrant.

The awards, to be held at a glittering ceremony

in November at the Renaissance Hotel, have been organised by the Evening Post, Reading Borough Council and the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce.

They will recognise the people and organisations who make this such a great town to live and work in, as well as the community heroes who are the heartbeat of our society.

These are set to be the biggest awards our town has ever seen and we want you to nominate the

outstanding people who you feel best represent the pride of Reading.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host Chris Tarrant OBE, who grew up in Reading, agreed immediately to get involved.

He said: â€œIâ€™m delighted to present these awards in my home town and honour the many inspirational people who live here.

â€œLetâ€™s all take pride in nominating those who

really deserve to be recognised.â€

The 10 categories include child of courage, community champion, top business person and local hero.

There are awards as part of the councilâ€™s successful Your Reading campaign, and Broad Street Mall and the Renaissance Hotel are sponsoring the event.

Please join us as we search for the heroes and heroines who deserve the accolade Pride of Reading.

THE Pride of Reading awards will be the biggest the town has ever seen.

They will recognise people from all sections of the community who have been nominated by you, the public.

The latest entries will be featured each week in a special section of the Evening Post until the closing date in October.

The awards will then culminate in the spectacular ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel on Wednesday, November 10.

Evening Post editor Andy Murrill said: â€œThese awards will unite the town in its admiration for the awe-inspiring efforts and feats of its most remarkable citizens.

â€œWe are delighted to be working with the council and the chamber of commerce to give these heroes the praise they deserve.â€

The awards also tie in with Reading Borough Councilâ€™s Your Reading campaign which aims to improve civic pride by encouraging people to keep the town clean and green.

The Mayor of Reading, Councillor Richard Stainthorp, said: â€œOne thing you realise very quickly when you become mayor is that Reading is full of big-hearted people who contribute to the community in many, many ways. All too often their efforts go unrecognised. These awards give us the chance to identify and honour some of them.â€

Reading Chamber of Commerce, local executive Samantha Whitehead said: â€œWe are very

excited about this competition.

â€œIt is a wonderful way to recognise businesses and their employees for going the extra mile and giving something back to Reading â€“ encouraging the residents to be proud of their city and giving ownership to businesses to contribute to Readingâ€™s success as a city.

â€œWith 25 million visitors to Reading last year we must be doing something right, so letâ€™s hear about it.â€